In a typical engaging (mounting) structure of an electric shaver and a cleaning/charging apparatus having a cleaning function that is configured to clean a blade unit of the electric shaver, the electric shaver has at its upper portion the blade unit and at its lower portion charging pins which electrically connects the electric shaver with the cleaning/charging apparatus. The electric shaver is placed upside down on the cleaning/charging apparatus so that a shaving head of the electric shaver is mounted faced down. The shaving head is positioned in a cleaning part of the cleaning/charging apparatus, and the charging pins are made to contact with a contact portion (terminals) provided at the cleaning/charging apparatus so as to charge the electric shaver by supplying power therethrough.
However, in case of mounting the electric shaver, which has the charging pins at the lower portion thereof, on the cleaning/charging apparatus, the charging pins are positioned uppermost. Therefore, in order to secure a stable contact with the charging pins of the electric shaver, the height of the cleaning/charging apparatus needs to be greater than that of the electric shaver.
In order to solve the problem, a structure is proposed which disposes charging pins on the rear surface of the electric shaver (hair removing apparatus), which allows the height of the cleaning/charging apparatus to be lower (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2004-261208; hereinafter, referred to as “Reference 1”). Reference 1 discloses therein techniques for preventing a loose contact between terminals by ensuring a rigid contact therebetween, one of which is a mechanically engaging mechanism to engage the electric shaver and the cleaning/charging apparatus by pulling the electric shaver with a movable support arm provided at the cleaning/charging apparatus; and the other is an electromagnetically inductive engaging mechanism to engage the electric shaver and the cleaning/charging apparatus by generating an electromagnetic induction from coils provided at the electric shaver and the cleaning/charging apparatus.
Moreover, although it is not an engaging structure designed specifically for an electric shaver and a cleaning/charging apparatus, there is an engaging structure of a portable radio telephone and a desktop holding stage for supplying power to the portable radio telephone, wherein the portable radio telephone has a magnet and the desktop holding stage has a weight made of a material that is capable of being attracted to the magnet (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2000-324220; hereinafter, referred to as “Reference 2”).
In addition, there has been proposed a technique for fixing a terminal of a charging device. Although it is not an engaging structure designed specifically for an electric shaver and a cleaning/charging apparatus, in the technique, an elastic part of the terminal is supported by a support member disposed away from a fixed end of the terminal and a pressure applied from a to-be-charged device mounted on the charging device to the contact portion of the terminal is received by a deflection of a portion from the contact portion to the support member supporting the elastic part, to thereby prevent the pressure applied to the contact portion from reaching a vicinity of the fixed end (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2003-132958; hereinafter, referred to as “Reference 3”).
However, the techniques disclosed in References 1 to 3 provide an unsatisfactory electrical connection state between the electric shaver charging device and the to-be-charged device and, accordingly, the contact mechanism between terminals needs to be further improved to provide a better connectivity.